The African Union Commission - New Leadership at The Helm

Ready To Accelerate The AU Agenda Towards The "Africa We Want'

By Shumirai Chimombe

The African Union Commission (AUC) plays a central role in the day-to-day management of the AU. Members of the Commission include the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson, six Commissioners, and staff members. It is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Among other responsibilities, the AUC

• Represents the Union and defends its interests

• Elaborates draft common positions of the Union

• Prepares strategic plans and studies for the consideration of the Executive Council

• Coordinates and harmonises the programmes and policies of the Union with those of the Regional Economic Communities, and ensures the mainstreaming of gender in all programmes and activities

Source: The African Union

The new leadership of the The African Union Commission (AUC) assumed office on 13 March, following the handover ceremony at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa on 15 February 2025.

African leaders at the Summit elected H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Djibouti) as Chairperson, and H.E. Selma Malika Haddadi (current Ambassador of Algeria to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA) as Deputy Chairperson.

Four of the six Commissioners were also elected and sworn in to oversee the following portfolios:

Amb. Bankole Adeoye (Nigeria) - Political Affairs, Peace and Security. He previously served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA and Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Mr. Moses Vilakati (Eswatini)Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment. He served as a minister in Eswatini in both the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, and the Ministry of Agriculture. among other accomplishments.

Ms. Lerato Mataboge (South Africa) - Infrastructure and Energy. A global policy and trade and investment facilitation expert, she is currently the Deputy Director-General in the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Prior to this role, she founded, and was CEO of Trade Invest Africa.

Amb. Amma Twum-Amoah (Ghana) - Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development. She is the former Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan and the Permanent Representative to the AU. She previously served as the Director, Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau of Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The elections of the remaining posts of two CommissionersEconomic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry, Mining (ETTIM), and Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) were expected to take place at the 24th Extraordinary session of the Executive Council.

The elected officials of the AUC serve for a four-year term which is renewable once.

Asserting Africa’s Position On The Global Stage

Upon accepting his new role as AUC Chairperson, H.E. Youssouf said: “Africa must take its destiny into its own hands. It’s time to assert ourselves as a determined continent, capable of influencing major global decisions and proposing solutions to the crises that affect us. I pledge today to act with determination to raise our Union to the level of our peoples’ expectations. We must breathe new life into our organisation, strengthen our unity and assert Africa’s place in the concert of nations.”

He emphasised the urgency to accelerate, among other goals, the implementation of the Second Ten-Year Plan of Agenda 2063 which is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming the continent into the global powerhouse of the future‘The Africa We Want’.

He also underscored the importance of working towards the financial autonomy of the AU and reducing dependence on external funding by exploring innovative financing mechanisms. Other goals he highlighted were to strengthen the collaboration between African Union institutions and to fast track the implementation of institutional reforms to address administrative and structural blockages.

“We must be an agile player, capable of responding to emergencies and anticipating future challenges.”

Messages of Support For The New Leadership

In a congratulatory statement the African Court Coalition wrote: “The African Court Coalition congratulates the newly elected AUC Chairperson and his Deputy, as well as the elected AUC Commissioners and wish them all the very best in serving their respective terms and serving the interest and the peoples of Africa. We also urge the newly elected AUC leadership to facilitate positive AU reforms that are inclusive and beneficial to African citizens; to prioritise the protection and promotion of human rights in the continent; and to strengthen the African human rights system”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa commented in an interview with news channel Newzroom Afrika, that with the new AU Chairperson, H.E. João Manuel Gonçalve Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola and the new AUC Chairperson, H.E. Youssouf “we think the capability of both those leaders is just going to lift the continent to higher levels of real hands-on management of the unity process on the continent.”

He also expressed his delight at the election of Lerato Mataboge to become the commissioner for infrastructure. “South Africa being the champion for infrastructure, this for us is a real cherry on top because it’s really going to put us at the center of infrastructure development.”

H.E. Lourenço, echoed these sentiments in his statement on the occasion of the handover ceremony in which the outgoing AUC leadership handed the baton to the incoming leadership.

“In my acceptance speech, I referred in particular to the issue of infrastructure, as I believe it should be given special attention by this Commission, which I am asking to devise a strategy aimed at mobilising Africa’s international partners, who are interested in making win-win investments.”

He added that infrastructure is one of the essential pillars of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which obliges the Union to mobilise as many financial resources as possible in order to achieve the goals that have been set in this area, and in the areas of technological innovation, food security and energy transition.

He proposed that the AUC, in coordination with the Regional Economic Communities and regional mechanisms, should work on organising a major continental conference on infrastructure in Africa this year. This would be to communicate to the Union’s main cooperation partners at bilateral and multilateral level the advantages of investing in financing and in continental interconnection infrastructures, and contribute directly to growth and development on the continent.

“I have observed the unreserved commitment by the leadership to the realisation of our great aspirations, which essentially consist of promoting the development of the continent, the construction and modernisation of the infrastructure we need to ensure the functioning of our industries, the efficient performance of our services, the flow of our export products, and enhanced intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Area.”

He expressed his confidence in the ability of the new leadership to steer the continent towards a more industrialised, peaceful and inclusive Africa where all African citizens can benefit from the economic growth, improved well-being and welfare, justice, and freedoms.

Source: African Union | Newsroom Afrika | African Court Coalition